Racing toy apparatus

ABSTRACT

A racing toy apparatus which has an elongated raceway with starting and finishing ends. A plurality of simulated vehicles are movable in generally parallel paths longitudinally of the raceway by pulley and cable type members. A motor and reversible gear train is selectively engageable with a gear on one of the pulleys for each vehicle by a clutch operable independently by the participants to drive the vehicles in alternate forward and reverse intermittent operating intervals. A signal in the form of a traffic light is operatively associated with the reversing gear train to give a green light signal during the forward operation of the gears and a red light signal during the reverse operation of the gears. The participants attempt to be the first to move his respective vehicle to the finishing end of the raceway by timing the actuation of his individual clutch for moving his respective vehicle only during the forward operating intervals.

United States Patent [191 Barlow et al.

[111 3,827,693 [451 Aug. 6, 1974 RACING TOY APPARATUS [73] Assignee:Marvin Glass & Associates,

Chicago, Ill.

22 Filed: Jan. 15, 1973 21 Appl.No.:323,705

Primary Examiner-Anton O. Oechsle Attorney, Agent, or FirmCoffee andSweeney [5 7] ABSTRACT A racing toy apparatus which has an elongatedraceway with starting and finishing ends. A plurality of simulatedvehicles are movable in generally parallel paths longitudinally of theraceway by pulley and cable type members. A motor and reversible geartrain is selectively engageable with a gear on one of the pulleys foreach vehicle by a clutch operable independently by the participants todrive the vehicles in alternate forward and reverse intermittentoperating intervals. A signal in ,the form of a traffic light isoperatively associated with the reversing gear train to give a greenlight signal during the forward operation of the gears and a red lightsignal during the reverse operation of the gears. The participantsattempt to be the first to move his respective vehicle to the finishingend of the raceway by timing the actuation of his individual clutch formoving his respective vehicle only during the forward operatingintervals.

23 Claims, 10 Drawing Figures PAIENTEDMJB 81 14 $821693 SHEEI' 2 OF 4 1RACING TOY APPARATUS BACKGROUND AND SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION Thisinvention relates to a racing game or toy apparatus and moreparticularly to a toy apparatus in which a number of miniature racingcars compete under the dictates of manipulatable mechanisms by theparticipants or players of the game.

Racing toys are well known but seldom provide excitement and interestother than the mere race itself. They are often of short dimensions andthe race is over in such a short period of time that the players do notreach a peak of excitement and interest which is possible to attain. Inthose instances where races of longer duration are made possible,relatively large racetracks are required to provide a continuous raceand most oftentimes the racetracks require considerable, sometimespermanent, space.

It is, therefore, a principal object of this invention to provide a newand improved racing game or toy apparatus.

Another object of the invention is to provide a new and improved racinggame or toy which occupies relatively little space but which providesfor excitement and interest over a relatively sustained period of time.

In the exemplary embodiment of the invention, an elongated racewayhaving starting and finishing ends is disposed on top of ahousingbeneath which the operable components of the apparatus aremounted. A plurality of miniature racing vehicles are positionable onthe raceway and are connected to individual cables each wrapped around apair of pulleys, one pulley at each end of the raceway so that movementof the cables in response to rotation of the pulleys moves the vehicleslongitudinally of the raceway. A simulated traffic light is disposedintermediate the ends of the raceway and a winners flag is disposed atthe finishing end of the raceway for movement automatically in responseto the first vehicle reaching the finishing end of the raceway.

Driving means is provided for the pulleys to drive the pulleys inopposite directions in alternate intermittent operating intervals so asto move the vehicles forwardly or backwardly along the raceway. Clutchmeans is provided for each participant, operatively associated with apulley for his respective vehicle whereby the player attempts to engagethe pulley for his vehicle with the driving means only during theforward operation thereof in an attempt to reach the finishing end ofthe raceway before the other vehicles. The traffic light has red andgreen light means energizable during the backward and forward operationsof the driving means, respectively, so that the participants use theirskill in timing the actuation of their respective clutch means inaccordance with their visual observation of the changing red and greenlights. Preferably, certain of the individual clutch means has amanually manipulatable portion at one end of the raceway for use bycertain of the participants, while other of the clutch means havemanually manipulatable portions at the opposite end of the raceway formanipulation by other of the participants.

More particularly, a common shaft member extends beneath all of thepulleys for the vehicles at one end of the raceway. The shaft has aplurality of gears thereon, one gear for each pulley, to be selectivelyengaged with gear means connected to each pulley. A miniature motor isconnected through a gear train having forward and reverse gear membersmovable into and out of engagement alternately with the commonlyrotatable gears beneath the pulleys. The movement of the forward andreverse gears is dictated by a cam member having varying cam lobesrotatable by the miniature motor. Thus, the common driving gears arerotated in alternate opposite forward and reverse directions duringchanging intermittent operating intervals. The red and green trafficlight signals are coordinated with the movement of the forward andreverse gears. The clutch means for each player includes a lever whichselectively and independently lowers the gear means for the respectivetoy vehicle to selectively lower the pulley gear into engagement withone of the common gears, preferably only during the forward motion ofthe common gear as indicated by the green light signal. Should theplayer not react sufficiently fast to the changing of the gears as shownby the changing of the light means, his vehicle will change directionsand move backwardly until he releases his individual clutch.

Other objects, features and advantages of the inention will be apparentfrom the following detailed description taken in connection with theaccompanying drawings.

DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a racing toyapparatus in accordance with the concepts of the present invention;

FIG. 2 is a bottom plan view, on an enlarged scale and partially brokenaway, of the apparatus shown in FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a vertical section, partially broken away, taken generallyalong the line 3-3 of FIG. 2;

FIG. 4 is a vertical section, partially broken away, taken generallyalong the line 4-4 of FIG. 2;

FIG. 5 is a vertical section taken generally along the line 55 of FIG.2;

FIG. 6 is a vertical section taken generally along the line 6-6 of FIG.2;

FIG. 7 is an elevational view of the gear train between the motor meansand the common driving gears for the vehicles;

FIG. 8 is a fragmentary elevational view of portions of the gears shownin FIG. 7, with the forward and reverse gears moved to their alternateposition;

FIG. 9 is a vertical section, on an enlarged scale, of the traffic lighttype signal means shown in FIG. 1; and

FIG. 10 is a wiring diagram for the motor, switch means and lightsignals of the present invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION Referring to the drawings ingreater detail, and first to FIG. 1, a racing toy apparatus or game isshown to include a base structure or housing, generally designated 10,having a top surface 12 defining an elongated raceway. The raceway 12 isformed by a raised top wall portion 14 of the housing 10, beneath whichmost of the operable components of the invention are mounted. Theraceway has a starting end, generally designated 16, and a finishingend, generally designated 18. Disposed intermediate the ends 16 and 18is a signal means in the form of a simulated traffic light, generallydesignated 20. A plurality of miniature vehicles 22 are provided formovement over the raceway 12 in generally parallel paths back and forthin the direction of the doubleheaded arrows A. A flag member 24 ismovably mounted at the finishing end 18 of the raceway and is actuatedby the first vehicle 22 to reach the finishing end and engage theactuating means for the flag.

The general scheme for the racing apparatus first will be described soas to facilitate the description of the various structural componentsthereof. Each of the miniature vehicles 22 is connected to anindependently operable cable 26 which is moved by power means and linkmeans, described hereinafter, by selective actuation of clutch means bythe participants of the game. The driving means is provided withalternate forward and reverse intermittent operating intervals which arecoordinated with green and red light portions of the traffic light 20.When a participant sees the green signal at the traffic light 20 hepushes downwardly in the direction of arrows B (FIG. 1) on exposedactuating button portions 28 of his respective clutch means to move hisrespective vehicle 22 in a forward direction toward the finishing end 18of the raceway. When the traffic signal 20 changes back to a red lightsignal, he releases the actuating portion 28 to stop his vehicle. Shouldhe be slow in releasing the pressure on the actuating portion 28, hisrespective vehicle will move backward toward the staring end 16 of theraceway until he releases the pressure. The light signal 20 and thedriving means for the cables 26 alternate at changing intervals betweenforward and reverse operating functions. Obviously, alertness, skill,manual dexterity and quickness are desirable attributes in beingsuccessful at playing the game. As stated above, the winner of the gameis the first participant to have his vehicle 22 reach the finishing end18 of the raceway and actuate the finishing flag 24.

Turning first to the simulated traffic light 20, and particularly toFIG. 9, the light includes an upstanding column type housing 30, thebase of which is press fit into a hollow boss portion 32 dependingdownwardly on the underside of the housing top wall portion 14. Anoutwardly protruding flange 34 rests on top of the top wall 14 of thehousing 10. A pair of miniature lightbulbs 36a and 36b are disposedbehind pairs of oppositely directed windows 38a and 3817, respectively.The windows 38a and 3812 are covered on the inside thereof bytranslucent panels 40a and 40b, respectively. In the embodiment shownherein, the upper lightbulb 36a has been designated the red lightbulbfor the backward or reverse operation of the vehicles and the lower bulb36b has been designated the forward bulb. To this end, the panels 40awould be red in color so as to transmit a red light from the bulb 36a,and the panels 40b would be green in color so as to transmit a greencolor from tation with a gear member 48 mounted on the side thereof, asbest seen in FIGS. 3 and 5. Each of the pulley 44 and gear 48combinations is mounted as a unit on individual rotatably mounted stubshafts 50, as shown in FIG. 5. Each of the units (comprising one pulley44, its associated gear 48, and their associated stub shaft 50) ismounted for vertical reciprocation (as indicated by the double-headedarrows C in FIGS. 3 and 5) for selective engagement with a gear member52. All of the gears 52 are mounted on a square shaft 54 which isrotated in alternate opposite directions. as indicated by thedoubleheaded arrow D (FIG. 3), as described in greater detailhereinafter.

In order to raise and lower the pulley 44 and gear 48 unitsindependently by the players of the game for their respective vehicles22, a lever member 56 (FIG. 3) is pivotally connected on the undersideof the top wall 14 of the housing by means of a pin 58 journalled inbrackets 60. As best seen in FIG. 5, the stub shaft 50 of thepulley-gear units is journalled in its respective lever 56 so that thepulley 44 and gear 48 is raised and lowered as the lever 56 pivots inthe direction of doubleheaded arrow E (FIG. 3). Each of the levers 56 isoperatively associated with one of the actuatable buttons 28 describedabove in relation to FIG. 1.

However, preferably, one or more buttons 28 are disposed at both ends ofthe raceway 12 for actuation by players of the game as they face eachother. For the players at the starting end 16 of the raceway, one of thebuttons 28 is connected by a downwardly depending brace 62 (FIG. 3) tothe respective lever 56. With reference to FIG. 3, the particular leverfor the button 28 at the righthand end of FIG. 3 is obscured from viewby the particular lever 56 shown. In order to provide actuation of thelever 56 shown in FIG. 3 by a player at the finishing end 18 of theraceway, a second lever 64 is pivoted by pin 66 on the underside of thehousing 10. The lever 64 is connected to the lever 56 by means of aconnecting rod 68 which is connected to the levers at points spaced fromthe pivots 58 and 66 thereof, as best seen in FIG. 3. Thus, when aplayer at the finishing end of the raceway presses down on his button 28in the direction of arrow B (FIG. 3) the lever 64 will pivot in thedirection of arrow F (FIG. 3) and cause the lever 56 to pivot in thedirection of arrow G to thereby lower the gear 48 for his respectivevehicle into engagement with one of the conjointly rotatable gears 52.Of course, for the players at the starting end of the raceway, therespective button 28 is connected directly to the lever 56 by bracepiece 62 and the lever 64 and rod 68 is eliminated. Leaf springs 69(FIG. 5) are secured to the underside of the housing by a boss 69a andbear on the underside of the levers 56 to normally bias the sameopposite arrow G to bias the buttons 28 upwardly.

In order to rotate the conjointly rotatable gears 52 in alternateopposite directions, reference is made first to FIGS. 2, 7 and 8 where aminiature motor 70 is shown operatively connected through a gear train,generally designated 72, to a gear member 74 fixed to the shaft 54 forthe conjointly rotatable gear members 52. More particularly, the motorhas a drive shaft 76 with a pulley 78 mounted thereon about which adrive belt 80 is wrapped. The drive belt 80 also is wrapped about alarger pulley 82 having a gear member 84 secured thereto for conjointrotation. Gear 84 is in mesh with a larger gear member 86 which itselfis in mesh with a gear member 88 which will be called the reversing orbackward gear. The backward gear 88 has a smaller gear 90 securedthereto for conjoint rotation, with the gear 90 in mesh with a largergear 92 which will be called the forward gear. The gears 86, 88, 90 and92 are mounted on a common triangularly shaped support plate 94 shown bythe dotted line in FIG. 7. There actually are a pair of triangularplates 94 between which the gears are mounted. All of the gears aremounted between a pair of supporting plates 96a and 96b (FIG. 2).

A shaft 98 for gear 86 is fixedly journalled between the plates 96a and96b. A shaft 100 for gears 88 and 90 is fixed only to the triangularplates 94 and is not connected to the plates 96a, 9612. A shaft 102 forgear 92 extends through an arcuate slot 104 (FIG. 7) in the supportplate 96a. The triangular plates 94 are pivoted on shaft 98.

Thus, with the structure described immediately above, movement of thetriangularly shaped support plates 94 back and forth in the direction ofdoubleheaded arrow H (FIG. 7) will cause the backward gear 88 and theforward gear 92 to alternately move into engagement with the gear 74which is conjointly rotatable with the individual driving gears 52. FIG.7 shows the forward gear 92 in mesh with the gear 74. FIG. 8 shows thebackward gear 88 moved into mesh with the gear 74 and the forward gear92 moved out of mesh. The slot 104 provides for lost motion between theshaft 102 for gear 92 and the supporting plate 96a. Arrows have beenshown on the gears in FIGS. 7 and 8 to show the opposite directions ofrotation of the gear 74 dependent upon its engagement with either ofgears 88 or 92.

Means is provided to oscillate the triangularly shaped supporting plates94 about the axis of shaft 98 for gear 86 to provide alternate forwardand backward intermittent operating intervals for the vehicle throughthe gear means described above. More particularly, a gear member 106(FIG. 7) is mounted on a shaft 108 and is in mesh with a smaller gear110 fixed for conjoint rotation with gear 86 in the gear train 72. Shaft108 extends through support plate 96b and has a relatively small piniongear 112 fixed thereto on the opposite side of the support plate 96b.Pinion gear 112 is mounted in mesh with a larger disc gear 114 having acam member, generally designated 116, secured thereto for conjointrotation therewith. When the motor is actuated, gear 106 will be rotatedin the direction of arrow I (FIG. 7) to rotate pinion gear 112 in thedirection of arrow J (FIG. 4) which, in turn, rotates disc gear 114 andcam member 116 in the direction of arrow K (FIG. 4).

The cam member 116 has a plurality of cam lobes 116a which vary in sizeand vary in spacing to provide varying operating intervals for theforward and reverse gears 92 and 88, respectively. A crank member,generally designated 118, (FIG. 4) has a lever portion 120 pivotedintermediate its ends 122 to the support plate 96b. Lever 120 has a camfollower portion 124 at one end thereof for engagement with the cammember 116 to ride over the cam lobes 116a and to fall into the gapsbetween the cam lobes. The crank means 118 has an arm portion 126pivoted at one end 128 to the opposite end of the lever member 120. Theopposite end of the arm portion 126 is connected to the shaft 102 forthe forward gear 92, the shaft 102 being fixed to the pivotaltriangularly shaped support plates 94. Thus, as the cam member 116rotates in the direction of arrow K, the cam lobes 116a bias the leverportion 120 pivotally about the shaft 122 in the direction of arrow L(FIG. 4). The opposite end of the lever pushes the arm portion 126upwardly in the direction of arrow M (FIG. 4) to move the forward gear92 out of mesh with the gear 74 and .to move the backward gear 88 intomesh with the gear 74. When the cam follower portion 124 falls back intoa gap between the cam lobes, biasing means (described hereinafter) urgesthe crank means 118 opposite the direction of arrows L and M to move theforward gear 92 back into mesh with the gear 74, as described above.

Switch means is operatively associated with the crank means 118 tochange the light means at the traffic light 20 from green to red as theforward gear 92 is moved out of mesh with gear 74. More particularly,and referring to FIGS. 4 and 10, a pair of leaf spring contacts 130a andl30b are mounted on the support plate 96b in spaced relationship. Aswitching leaf spring contact 132 also is mounted on the support plate96b between the contacts 130a and 13% in the position shown so asnormally to be in engagement with the contact 13%. Contact 130b is thegreen contact and is connected through line 134 (FIG. 10) to the greenlightbulb 36b. Contact 130a is the red contact and is connected throughline 136 to the red lightbulb 36a. The switching contact 132 is fixed tothe shaft 102 which extends through the arm portion 126 of the crankmeans 118, the shaft 102 being the shaft for the forward gear 92. Thus,it can be seen that as the forward and backward gears 92 and 98,respectively, are shifted between the positions shown in FIGS. 7 and 8,the red and green lightbulbs 36a and 3612, respectively, will beenergized in accordance with the positions of the operating gears.

Referring back to the wiring diagram in FIG. 10, the common switchingcontact 132 is electrically connected through line 138 to battery means140 (e.g., a 1V2 volt battery) which in turn is connected through line142 to an on-off switch, generally designated 144. The lightbulbs 36a,36b are connected through lines 146 and 148, respectively, and line 150to the on-off switch means 144. An actuator button 152 (FIG. 9) may beexposed on top of the housing 10 at the base of the simulated trafficlight 20, as seen in FIG. 1. The onoff switch 144 also is common to andoperatively connected to the motor 70 through line 154. The motor isconnected to a pair of batteries 156 (e.g., 1V2 volt batteries) by line158. The batteries 156 are connected back to the switch means 144 byline 160. The batteries 156 are connected in series by line 162.

As best seen in FIGS. 1, 4 and 6, the flag member 24 is formed integralwith an arm portion 164 which is pivoted to the housing 10 by a pin 166.The flag member 24 and its arm portion 164 are generally received forreciprocating movement within a slot 168 in the housing. FIG. 4 showsthe flag member in a cocked position with a transverse rod 170 disposedwithin a notch 172 at the juncture between the flag member 24 and itsarm portion 164. The transverse rod member 170 is pivoted to the housing10 by arm portions 173 and extends across the entire finishing end 18 ofthe raceway as best seen in FIGS. 1 and 6. Thus, as a vehicle 122reaches the finishing end 18, it will come into abutment with thetransverse rod 170 to cause the rod to pivot about its ends 174 in thedirection of arrow N (FIG. 4). As the rod 170 moves out of the notch172, resilient means in the form of a rubber band 176 or otherappropriate spring means, causes the flag member 24 and its arm portion164 to pivot upwardly about pivot 166 in the direction of arrow (FIG. 4)to the position shown in FIG. 1. The rubber band 176 is wrapped about aboss 178 on the underside of the top wall 14 of the housing and about aboss portion 180 fixed to the arm portion 164 of the flag member 24.'lnorder to again cock the flag member 124 to the position shown in FIG. 4,it simply is manually depressed and the transverse rod 170 is positionedwithin the notch 72, stretching the rubber band 176.

in order to return the vehicles 22 back to the starting end 16 to startanother race, they simply are moved backward manually as long as thegears 48 and 52 are out of mesh.

The foregoing detailed description has been given for clearness ofunderstanding only and no unnecessary limitations should be understoodtherefrom as some modifications will be obvious to those skilled in theart.

We claim:

1. A racing toy apparatus, comprising:

means defining a raceway;

a plurality of individual racing toys operatively associated with saidraceway for movement therealong in generally parallel paths, one racingtoy for each participant;

driving means for moving said racing toys along said raceway only duringpredetermined intermittent operating intervals of time, said drivingmeans including a gear train operatively associated with power means andincluding a forward gear member and a reverse gear member constantly inmesh in said gear train and third gear means, said forward and reversegear members being movable into alternate meshed engagement with saidthird gear means to drive said third gear means in opposite directionsduring certain of said operating intervals to provide intermittentforward and reverse movement of said racing toys;

signal means operatively associated with said driving means so as to beactuated only during certain of said intermittent operating intervals;and

individually operable clutch means for each racing toy for selectivelyoperatively connecting each racing toy independently to said third gearmeans by said participants in an attempt to operatively move the racingtoys only during said operating intervals.

2. The racing toy apparatus of claim 1 wherein said signal meanscomprises light means energized and deenergized in timed relationshipwith said intermittent operating intervals.

3. The racing toy apparatus of claim 1 wherein said racing toys compriseminiature vehicles.

4. The racing toy apparatus of claim 1 including means for varying thetiming of said operating intervals.

5. The racing toy apparatus of claim 4 wherein said last named meansincludes a cam member having varying sizes of operative cam lobes.

6. The racing toy apparatus of claim 4 including means for varying thelength of said operating intervals.

7. The racing toy apparatus of claim 6 wherein said last named meansincludes a cam member having varying sizes of operative cam lobes.

8. The racing toy apparatus of claim 1 wherein said raceway is elongatedwith opposite starting and finishing ends thereof, with certain ones ofsaid clutch means having exposed manually manipulatable portions at oneend of the raceway and the other of said clutch means having exposedmanually manipulatablc portions at the opposite end of the raceway.

9. The racing toy apparatus of claim 8 wherein said signal meanscomprises a traffic light disposed on and intermediate the ends of saidraceway.

10. The racing toy apparatus of claim 1 wherein said raceway iselongated with opposite starting and finishing ends thereof, andincluding flag means at said finishing end of the raceway, the flagmeans being automatically actuatable when the first racing toy reachesthe finishing end of the raceway.

11. The racing toy apparatus of claim 1 wherein said signal means hasmeans for effecting different signals for said forward and reverseoperating intervals.

12. The racing toy apparatus of claim 11 wherein said signal meanscomprises light means for effecting green and red light signals for saidforward and reverse intervals, respectively.

13. The racing toy apparatus of claim 1 wherein said raceway iselongated and has opposite ends and said driving means includes a pairof pulley-like members for each racing toy, one pulley member of eachpair thereof at each end of the raceway, and a cable member wrappedabout each pair of pulleys and connected to the respective racing toyfor moving the same in response to driving at least one of the pulleys.

14. The racing toy apparatus of claim 13 wherein said clutch meansincludes means for selectively engaging and disengaging at least one ofsaid pulley member to said third gear means.

15. The racing toy apparatus of claim 14 including means for bodilymoving one of each pair of said pulley members into and out of drivingassociation with said third gear means.

16. The racing toy apparatus of claim 15 wherein said clutch meansincludes a gear member operatively associated with one of each pair ofsaid pulley members and movable independently into and out of engagementwith third said gear means.

17. The racing toy apparatus of claim 1 wherein said signal means isactuated in response to movement of said forward and reverse gearmembers.

18. The racing toy apparatus of claim 17 wherein said signal meanscomprises light means for effecting a green light signal when said"forward gear member is in mesh with said third gear member and foreffecting a red light signal when said reverse gear member is in meshwith said third gear member.

19. The racing toy apparatus of claim 18 including switch means incircuit with said light means, said switch means being actuatedautomatically in response to movement of said forward and reverse gearmembers.

20. A racing toy apparatus comprising:

means defining an elongated raceway having a plurality of paralleltracks with opposite starting and finishing ends;

a plurality of individual toy racing devices, one for each participant,each racing device being operatively associated with one of said tracksfor movement therealong;

driving means operably associated with power means and associatable withsaid racing devices for moving said racing devices along said tracks ina forward direction during certain predetermined intermittent operatingintervals of time and in a reverse direction during other predeterminedoperating intervals, said driving means including a forward gear meansand a reverse gear means associated with said power means and a thirdgear means, said forward and reverse gear means being adapted toalternately engage said third gear means to drive said third gear meansin opposite directions during the operating intervals; an upstandingsingular simulated traffic light operably associated with said drivingmeans and mounted intermediate the ends of the raceway, said trafficlight having a green light and a red light visible from either end ofsaid raceway, said traffic light displaying a green light during saidforward direction intervals and a red light during said reversedirection intervals; and plurality of individually and selectivelyoperable clutch means, one for each track, operably associated betweensaid third gear means and each racing device for selectively associatinga racing device to said driving means to move said racing devices duringsaid operating intervals.

21. The racing toy apparatus of claim 20 including flag means at saidfinishing end of the raceway, the flag means being automaticallyactuatable when the first racing device reaches the finishing end of theraceway.

22. The racing toy apparatus of claim 20 wherein said driving meansincludes a pair of pulley-like members for each racing device, onepulley member of each pair thereof at each end of the raceway, and acable member wrapped about each pair of pulleys and connected to therespective racing device for moving the same in response to driving at.least one of the pulleys, said clutch means including means forselectively engaging and disengaging at least one of said pulleys tosaid driving means.

23. The racing toy apparatus of claim 20 wherein said traffic lightincludes a switch means operatively associated with said forward andreverse gear means for illuminating either said green light or said redlight in reponse to the movement of the forward gear means intoengagement with the third gear means or the movementof the reverse gearmeans into engagement with the third gear means respectively.

1. A racing toy apparatus, comprising: means defining a raceway; aplurality of individual racing toys operatively associated with saidraceway for movement therealong in generally parallel paths, one racingtoy for each participant; driving means for moving said racing toysalong said raceway only during predetermined intermittent operatingintervals of time, said driving means including a gear train operativelyassociated with power means and including a ''''forward'''' gear memberand a ''''reverse'''' gear member constantly in mesh in said gear trainand third geaR means, said forward and reverse gear members beingmovable into alternate meshed engagement with said third gear means todrive said third gear means in opposite directions during certain ofsaid operating intervals to provide intermittent forward and reversemovement of said racing toys; signal means operatively associated withsaid driving means so as to be actuated only during certain of saidintermittent operating intervals; and individually operable clutch meansfor each racing toy for selectively operatively connecting each racingtoy independently to said third gear means by said participants in anattempt to operatively move the racing toys only during said operatingintervals.
 2. The racing toy apparatus of claim 1 wherein said signalmeans comprises light means energized and de-energized in timedrelationship with said intermittent operating intervals.
 3. The racingtoy apparatus of claim 1 wherein said racing toys comprise miniaturevehicles.
 4. The racing toy apparatus of claim 1 including means forvarying the timing of said operating intervals.
 5. The racing toyapparatus of claim 4 wherein said last named means includes a cam memberhaving varying sizes of operative cam lobes.
 6. The racing toy apparatusof claim 4 including means for varying the length of said operatingintervals.
 7. The racing toy apparatus of claim 6 wherein said lastnamed means includes a cam member having varying sizes of operative camlobes.
 8. The racing toy apparatus of claim 1 wherein said raceway iselongated with opposite starting and finishing ends thereof, withcertain ones of said clutch means having exposed manually manipulatableportions at one end of the raceway and the other of said clutch meanshaving exposed manually manipulatable portions at the opposite end ofthe raceway.
 9. The racing toy apparatus of claim 8 wherein said signalmeans comprises a traffic light disposed on and intermediate the ends ofsaid raceway.
 10. The racing toy apparatus of claim 1 wherein saidraceway is elongated with opposite starting and finishing ends thereof,and including flag means at said finishing end of the raceway, the flagmeans being automatically actuatable when the first racing toy reachesthe finishing end of the raceway.
 11. The racing toy apparatus of claim1 wherein said signal means has means for effecting different signalsfor said forward and reverse operating intervals.
 12. The racing toyapparatus of claim 11 wherein said signal means comprises light meansfor effecting green and red light signals for said forward and reverseintervals, respectively.
 13. The racing toy apparatus of claim 1 whereinsaid raceway is elongated and has opposite ends and said driving meansincludes a pair of pulley-like members for each racing toy, one pulleymember of each pair thereof at each end of the raceway, and a cablemember wrapped about each pair of pulleys and connected to therespective racing toy for moving the same in response to driving atleast one of the pulleys.
 14. The racing toy apparatus of claim 13wherein said clutch means includes means for selectively engaging anddisengaging at least one of said pulley member to said third gear means.15. The racing toy apparatus of claim 14 including means for bodilymoving one of each pair of said pulley members into and out of drivingassociation with said third gear means.
 16. The racing toy apparatus ofclaim 15 wherein said clutch means includes a gear member operativelyassociated with one of each pair of said pulley members and movableindependently into and out of engagement with third said gear means. 17.The racing toy apparatus of claim 1 wherein said signal means isactuated in response to movement of said ''''forward'''' and''''reverse'''' gear members.
 18. The racing toy apparatus of claim 17wherein said signal means comprises light means for effecting a greenlight signal when said ''''forward'''' gear member is in mesh with saidthird gear memBer and for effecting a red light signal when said''''reverse'''' gear member is in mesh with said third gear member. 19.The racing toy apparatus of claim 18 including switch means in circuitwith said light means, said switch means being actuated automatically inresponse to movement of said ''''forward'''' and ''''reverse'''' gearmembers.
 20. A racing toy apparatus comprising: means defining anelongated raceway having a plurality of parallel tracks with oppositestarting and finishing ends; a plurality of individual toy racingdevices, one for each participant, each racing device being operativelyassociated with one of said tracks for movement therealong; drivingmeans operably associated with power means and associatable with saidracing devices for moving said racing devices along said tracks in aforward direction during certain predetermined intermittent operatingintervals of time and in a reverse direction during other predeterminedoperating intervals, said driving means including a forward gear meansand a reverse gear means associated with said power means and a thirdgear means, said forward and reverse gear means being adapted toalternately engage said third gear means to drive said third gear meansin opposite directions during the operating intervals; an upstandingsingular simulated traffic light operably associated with said drivingmeans and mounted intermediate the ends of the raceway, said trafficlight having a green light and a red light visible from either end ofsaid raceway, said traffic light displaying a green light during saidforward direction intervals and a red light during said reversedirection intervals; and a plurality of individually and selectivelyoperable clutch means, one for each track, operably associated betweensaid third gear means and each racing device for selectively associatinga racing device to said driving means to move said racing devices duringsaid operating intervals.
 21. The racing toy apparatus of claim 20including flag means at said finishing end of the raceway, the flagmeans being automatically actuatable when the first racing devicereaches the finishing end of the raceway.
 22. The racing toy apparatusof claim 20 wherein said driving means includes a pair of pulley-likemembers for each racing device, one pulley member of each pair thereofat each end of the raceway, and a cable member wrapped about each pairof pulleys and connected to the respective racing device for moving thesame in response to driving at least one of the pulleys, said clutchmeans including means for selectively engaging and disengaging at leastone of said pulleys to said driving means.
 23. The racing toy apparatusof claim 20 wherein said traffic light includes a switch meansoperatively associated with said forward and reverse gear means forilluminating either said green light or said red light in reponse to themovement of the forward gear means into engagement with the third gearmeans or the movement of the reverse gear means into engagement with thethird gear means respectively.